Skirt-hook.



No. s34,|o5. Patented out. 3, i899. .1. FISHER.

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(Application mod Apt. l; 1899.)

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- UNITEDA STATES' PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT JOSEPH FISI-IER, OF ATHENS, TENNESSEE.

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-SPEVCIFICATIONforming part of Letters `Patent No. 634,105, dated October 3, 1899. Application iiled- April l, 1899.k Serial lip. 711,377. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, ROBERT Josnrn FISHER, 2a citizen of the United States, residing" at Athens, in the county of McMinn and State of Tennessee, have invented a new and useful Skirt-Hook, of which the following is a specication. In meeting the public demand for a means to hold the waist and skirt of a ladys dress the device must be constructed Yfor effective service to not only hold the skirt from sagging, but also restrain the waist from rising or pulling out of the skirt-band; it should be capable of adjustment by the wearer without the assistance of other persons; it should be capable of tting compactly between the garvments and without increasing the bulk thereof; it must be capable of use interchangeably and in connection with different garments; it should yield or give to the Vcontour of the waist, and it must be simple and cheap. I have devised a construction" of holder which fulfils all these conditions, and which possesses the further andimportant advantage of distributing the weight of the skirt, to better advantage over the wearers shoulders than can be attained by using an ordinary safety-pin to fasten the waistband of the skirt.

In its broad aspect my invention contemplates the provision of a holderl which is' provided with two rows of engaging teeth, one rowrof said teeth projecting in one direction from one face of the holder and the other row of teeth extending in the contrary direction from the reverse face of the holder,

4whereby on the application of the holder between a waist and the waistband of a skir one row of teeth are made to engage with the waist and the other row of teeth engage with I the skirt-band. v

In the preferred embodiment of the invention the holder is struck up from a single piece of elastic sheet metal having the two rows of oppositely-extending teeth projecting from opposite faces of the holder, and this holder is curved throughout its length to enable it to be tted snugly between the garments, whereby the device is adapted to yield and conform to the waist. It takes up practically no room between the garments, and its teeth engage with the waist and the skirt- `band to prevent displacement of garments.

To enable others to understand the invention, I have illustrated the same in the aecompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, and in which- Figure l is a perspective view of my combined'waist and skirt holder. Fig. 2 is asection thereof to illustrate the disposition of the two rows of teeth. Fig. 3 is a View showing the device in operative relation to the waist and the skirt.- l

The same .numerals of reference are used to indicate like and corresponding parts in each figure of the drawings.

Theholder 5 in the embodiment of the invention represented by the drawings consists of a single piece of elastic sheet metal, preferably of springsteel, and it is curved throughoutits length in order to fit compactly between the garments. Said holder is provided Vwith two series or rows of holdingteeth, one of which series of teeth is indicated by the* numeral 6, and the other series of teeth is indicated at 7, all of said teeth being-of equal projection. The series of teeth 6 are punched or stamped from the metallic holder near the upper edge thereof, and said teeth incline downwardly from the hold er on the inner or concave surface thereof. The other series of teeth7 are punched or stamped from the holder near the lower edge thereof, vand said lower series of teeth project in an np- Award direction from the outer or -convex surface of the holder. The two series er rows of teeth are spaced at a proper distance' from each other, and each row or series has its teeth spaced apart to leave the metal between the teeth solid and unbroken, thus insuring lthe necessary stability of the holder.

either of the It will be observed that the holder of myv invention is made in a single piece from an exceedingly thin sheet or strip of elastic metal, and this is an important feature, because the holder `does not increase the bulk when it is properly fitted or assembled between the garments. The holder is quite long in order that it may span the space between the divided waisthand,and the elongated construction of the holder is, furthermore, advantageous in that it serves to distribute the weight of the skirt over the shoulders of the IOO wearer to better advantage than can be attained by employing the ordinary safety-pin to fasten the waistband of the skirt or t unite the waist and skirt together. i

In using the holder of my invention it is adjusted by the wearer against the outside ofu the waist in a position for the teeth 6 to engage with the fabric of the dress-waist. The ends of the skirt-band are now drawntogether and around the holder 5, and the lower series or row of teeth 7 engage with the waistband to prevent the skirt from sagging. The holder is thus fitted compaetly between the dress- Waist and the band of the skirt, and the belt is adjusted around the waist in the ordinary manner to make the teeth of the holder engage firmly with the dress-waist and the skirtbaud. The adjustment and tightening of the waist-'belt exerts pressure on the garments and the holder to prevent accidental separation or loosening of the parts, and as the holder is a very thin piece of sheet met-al it does not in any way increase the bulk of the garments at the waist of the wearer. This is a very important consideration in, a device of this character, and another advantage accruing from the use of my device is that the elastic holder is free to yield or give and adjust itself to the garments, so that it may be worn by persons of different sizes.

My improved holder is especially well adapted for use in connection with the class of garments known as shirt-waists, and the teeth 6 of the holder are so fashioned as to practically prevent injuryto the dress-waist.

From the foregoing description it will be noted that the holder is constructed with twoseries ot' teeth which are inclined in opposite directions and which project from opposite faces of said holder, and one series of teeth are so disposed as to engage with the dresswaist in a manner to prevent the waist from pulling outl of the skirt-band, while the other series of teeth of said holder engage with the skirt-band in a manner to hold the latter in proper position and prevent the skirt from sagging. The device is exceedingly simple in oonstruction and economical of manufacture, because it may be stamped from a single piece of metal and the teeth punched therefrom in the operation of stamping the metallic strip. lVhiie I have shown and described the holder in the preferred embodimentas being struck up from a single piece of sheet metal, I do not desire to strictly limit myself to this precise method of making the holder orof the exact construction shown, because I am aware that the gist of the invention may be availed of in making the holder from other material. It is also evident that the numcannes ber of rows of teeth may be increased-that is to say, instead of one row of teeth protruding from each side of the holder two rows of teeth may project from each side thereof, or two or more rows may project from one side and only one row from the opposite side. The arrangement of teeth may be varied within limits which Willreadily suggest themselves to a skilled constructor; but I consider it essential that teeth be provided on each face of the holder to extend in opposite directions.

One of the adi-'antages attending the use of my device is the fact that it is invisible, because the holder is concealed by the skirtband or the belt, and this feature of invisibility will commend the device to the favorable consideration of women who have heretofore objected to the safety-pin and other visible means of fastening the dress-Waist and skirt-band together.

It is well known that ladies desire their dress-waists to lit tightly or snugly, because the garment looks better and feels more comfortable. I have found that my device permits the dress-waist, particularly if -it is a shirt-waist, to be drawn down so as to :fit snugly in the back, and this advantage is due tothe fact that the teeth on the inner face of the holder point or incline in adownward direction. I-Iencethe garment may be pulled down; but it is prevented from lifting or rising up, because the yteeth on the inner face of the holder catch and retain the fabric.

That I claim is-- l. As a new article of manufacture, a com bined Waist and skirt holder consisting of a longitudinally-curved strip struck up from a single piece of dat metal and provided with reversely-disposed sets of teeth, which are punched to protrude from reverse faces of the holder, substantially as set forth.

'As a new article of manufacture, a combined waist and skirt holder consisting of a curved elastic strip or length ol sheet metal struck up from a single piece and provided with two sets of teeth which are punched from the blank near the opposite edges thereof, one set of teeth projectin'gin adownward direction from the concave face of the curved holder and the other set projecting in an upward direction from the convex face of said curved holder, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT JOSEPH FISHER.

Witnesses:

JAMES R. GEETYS, DANIEL M. OWEN.

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